In an exciting electoral double-whammy, the National Popular Vote bill passed the State Senate in both North Carolina and California on May 14, 2007.

California's SB 37 was approved by the Senate Committee on Elections, Redistricting, and Constitutional Amendments on March 21, 2007, and passed on final reading by a vote of 22-14. North Carolina's SB 954 passed by a vote of 30-18. Eyes now turn to the House in both states.

In little over a year since its kick-off, the NPV bill has demonstrated some fancy footwork, passing a total of 10 legislative chambers. The number of legislative supporters has also continued to grow, recently surpassing 350 sponsors in 47 States.

[ AP Story on North Carolina ]
[ Charlotte Observer story ]
[ More on National Popular Vote ]
[ NPV in the Harvard Journal on Legislation (.pdf) ] NEW!

The Illinois House passed the National Popular Vote plan by a vote of 65-50 on May 2nd. Former Illinois Congressman and FairVote chairman John Anderson is a member of the National Popular Vote Advisory Board. Illinois was the first state where the National Popular Vote bill was introduced in 2006.

The same week, the Hawaii State Senate also chose to override the Governor's veto of National Popular Vote. The Hawaii House originally passed the bill by a large margin of 35-12. Bills have been introduced in 47 states, with 320 sponsors nationwide.

[ News story on Illinois ]
[ More on National Popular Vote ]
[ Track the Illinois Bill, HB 858 ]

Due to the efforts of former FairVote board member and first-term Senator Jamie Raskin as well as FairVote Action's Ryan O'Donnell, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed the National Popular Vote bill into law, making the Free State the first to join an interstate compact to elect the president by popular vote.

The Governor also signed a FairVote-backed bill to establish Constitution Day in Maryland to teach all students about civic participation, with a voter registration component. This bill is a great first step toward FairVote�s goal of the government sharing the responsibility of voter registration with its citizens and educating students about voting before graduation.

[ Read article in The Nation ]
[ Read story in The Washington Post ]

The Maryland House of Delegates passed the National Popular Vote plan on April 2nd, by a vote of 85 to 54, joining the State Senate which passed the plan on March 28 by a vote of 29 to 17. According to a spokesman, Governor Martin O'Malley will sign the bill.

Developed by National Popular Vote, this plan would ensure an equally meaningful vote for Americans in all states, not just "battlegrounds" like Florida and Ohio, by having states use their constitutional powers to guarantee election of the national popular vote winner in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

[ Washington Post story - Bypassing the Electoral College]
[ Washington Post story - MD Senate Advances Bill]
[ Takoma Voice op-ed by MD Del. Sheila Hixson ]
[ Learn about National Popular Vote ]
[ FairVote Action ]